Map

Description

One of the best pieces of (climbable) rock around. It's also one of the best winter crags in the area, being an all day suntrap after 10AM and well sheltered from the wind. Even at temps of 10-12C, if there's no wind this wall can be a bit hot in the sun! Shady until 11:30 AM in summer.

Access to Mt Boyce from Station St Blackheath:
Vehicle access IS permitted by climbers to the Mt Boyce car parks 1 & 2

Access to Mt Boyce from Fairy Bower Reserve, Mt Victoria:
Vehicle or walking access IS NOT permitted. Do not walk or drive on the maintenance track between Fairy Bower Reserve and the Mt Boyce climbing areas. Climbers approaching Mt Boyce from this direction are asked to walk on the footpath at the right hand side of the track which takes them down to the climbing areas.

This is an existing agreement made in 2003 after discussions with the council, SRC and other interested groups. We are reminded that this agreement may change due to risks to members of the public on the maintenance track alongside the increasing number of works projects planned for the tracks. This message comes as the first of a number of upcoming works projects between 18 Jan and 9 Feb 2018, commences. Sydney Trains ask all climbers to adhere to the original agreement for access to the maintenance track.

Approach

Although sport climbing is well entrenched as the most popular form of Blueys climbing, mixed-climbing on gear and bolts has generally been the rule over the long term. Please try to use available natural gear where possible, and do not bolt cracks or potential trad climbs.

Because of the softness of Blue Mountains sandstone, bolting should only be done by those with a solid knowledge of glue-in equipping. A recent fatality serves as a reminder that this is not an area to experiment with bolting.

If you do need to top rope, please do it through your own gear as the wear on the anchors is both difficult and expensive to maintain.

It would be appreciated if brushing of holds becomes part of your climbing routine - do it with a soft bristled brush and never a steel brush!

The removal of vegetation - both from the cliff bases and the climbs - is not seen as beneficial to aesthetics of the environment nor to our access to it. However, the fast growing scrub can conceal walking tracks in mere months, so bringing a pair of secaturs and pruning as you walk is a good way of helping out with the constant task of track maintenance. Some appropriately discreet pruning is a far better alternative then track braiding (which causes far more damage). It's also a good warmup for your forearms! However, do so only on Council land and not in the National Park.

Gain the ledge a few metres left of Spoilt Brats' 1st belay, either from Spoilt Brats, or by unprotected bridging for 8m up between the blank wall and tree. Follow the old carrots (& cams?) up the face a few metres left of Spoilt Brats, then step R on the ledge to Spoilt Brats' 2nd belay (DRB, 30m rap). Sadly you need to aid on the 2nd carrot to pass a blank section, and the 30yo bolts are uninspiring, but otherwise this route looks great.

One of the best routes at this grade in the whole Blue Mountains. Tackles the disconnected flake system up the centre of this awesome wall. It's ok to lead from the ground to the top of pitch 2 and lower off, if you're careful about extending gear and have a 60m+ rope.

12m (15). Just access. Bridge small tree to ledge, then short corner (small cams, wires). Traverse 4-5m L to double ring belay 8m off the ground.

25m (21). Follow the stellar flakes. One or 2 med cams up the initial flake, otherwise all ringbolts. Step left on the ledge to a DRB anchor (evidently positioned as a multipitch belay, but a bit awkward to lower off). Most people lower/rap off from here without continuing.

This original version is mainly characterised by being a half-height traverse of the wall from Spoilt Brats left to the arête.

12m 15. As for Spoilt Brats.

45m 22M0. Follow Spoilt Brats pitch 2 up the initial flake, left across the face, and a couple of metres up the second flake (to where there used to be a piton). From here the 1996 description says "traverse L (#1.5Fr) & up (BR) to big #Fr break. L past #2Fr slot and up (big #Frs). Further L to arête and step down to stance and small/med #Fr". Presumably the BR is on Sisters of Mercy, and you can probably clip ringbolts as you cross the more recent sport routes. Sounds like the belay stance is around halfway up Shades of Grey or a bit left. The M0 indicates the leader sat on gear somewhere too.

15m. Jugs up arete to the Smallpox ledge. Walk off L, or rap 30m now that there are anchors.
The 1990s guide says the FA was by Martin & Peisker in 1984, but the 2000s Carter guides describe a lower easier version done by Martin & Smoothy 1990s (separately recorded here as "Sleepwalk for the Low Time").

Listed as "Sleepwalk for the Last Time" in the 2015 Carter guide, but that route was done 10 years earlier, is 5 grades harder, and it's traverse is 10-15m higher. Now listed separately as they sound like very different routes.

12m 15. As for Spoilt Brats.

20m 17. Traverse left along ledges, past ring bolts & cams, to the base of the arête/slab. Trad belay.

You need some trad for the section shared with SBaGA, after that it's all RBs. This route is set up to be done in 3 pitches, but is easily reduced to 2 pitches, or even just 1 pitch if you work out the admin (tie into both ends & drop one after the traverse, 70m rope minimum, 80m rope better). It's critical to avoid the rope-eating flake on SBaGA, if it gets your rope you can't continue (either a short roller draw on 2nd bolt above the flake, or heaps of extenders and back-flicking the rope).

It'd be good if someone could bring a spanner to remove the 2 ugly coach screws below the traverse.

12m 15. As for SBaGA p1.

20m 23. As for SBaGA p2 up the first flake plus 2 more bolts. Then break R into a devious traverse on spaced incuts across immaculate blankness, to DRB.

15m 23. Continue up and left to a tricky steeper move right at the top of the wall, DRB. A 70m rope will be 6m short of reaching the ground; a re-thread part-way up pitch 3 (borrowing a bolt from Minor Threat) lets you clean the gear all the way to the ground (even if you dropped the rope out of the gear on p1&2).

According to Roger Bourne's website, but not mentioned in the guidebooks, this is accessed by abseil. Which is consistent with it being 20m long. And also would explain why those approaching from the ground via Infant Terror find it hard for 20.